FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONCORD – Angered that they have worked without a contract since school started this year, about 500 members of the Mt. Diablo Education Association (MDEA) are expected to rally and picket in front of the Mt. Diablo Unified School District Office at 1936 Carlotta Drive, Concord at 4 p.m. today. The event coincides with the teacher association’s first full day of mediation in its ongoing contract dispute with the school district.
The association has met 15 times with the district in its ongoing struggle to obtain increases in salaries and health benefits. Salaries in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District, once the envy of neighboring districts, have slipped dramatically in the past few years. Mt. Diablo teachers earned $2,264 less than the average teacher salary in six nearby districts, including San Ramon, Antioch and Pittsburg, before teachers in these surrounding districts received raises for this school year.
“We want to make a clear statement that enough is enough,” said MDEA President Mike Noce. “Our teachers are struggling. They deserve a decent salary and health care.”
• WHAT: Rally in support of a teachers contract with a decent salary and health care.
• WHEN: March 14, 4 p.m.
• WHERE: 1936 Carlotta Drive, Concord.
• VISUALS: Hundreds of teachers, picketing and singing union songs in a demonstration to put pressure on the school board and district administration to settle the contract.